


Blame It On The Mistletoe

by QueenoftheWallflowers



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Bellamy Blake, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Holidays, Hot Chocolate is not an innuendo, Jealous Bellamy Blake, Jealous Clarke Griffin, Little Spoon Bellamy Blake, M/M, Making Out, Mistletoe, Multi, Naked Cuddling, OT3, Pansexual Gabriel Santiago, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Teacher Bellamy Blake, Teacher Gabriel Santiago, ot3 endgame, semi naked cuddling I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:28:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheWallflowers/pseuds/QueenoftheWallflowers
Summary: Bellamy is excited to ask Gabriel to come with him to the cabin this Christmas, he has plans to ask his FWB to be his boyfriend... that is until he finds out that his old friend and the love of his life Clarke will be there too. He hasn't seen her in over a year after a falling out. But it's fine, he's with Gabriel. He's not supposed to want to hold Clarke's hand anymore.Clarke is nervous to see Bellamy, she said such awful things and in the end he was right. She wants to make it right and figures the cabin is the best place to do it. She just didnt' expect to open the front door to find Bellamy kissing his friend.. or for her to be attracted to said friend.Gabriel is happy with Bellamy and the fact that Bellamy loves Clarke doesn't bother him at all. He wants them to fix their friendship, knowing that it will make Bellamy happy and his happiness matters. So he decides to help them along, he just didn't expect to get along so well with Clarke or for what it supposed to be just a platonic kiss under the mistletoe to be much more.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin/Gabriel Santiago | Xavier, Bellamy Blake/Gabriel Santiago | Xavier, Clarke Griffin/Gabriel Santiago | Xavier
Comments: 26
Kudos: 40
Collections: bellarkescord advent calendar





	Blame It On The Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> [](https://ibb.co/YQkx7Bg)   
> 

Gabriel lifts his head up from the pillow, the room is dark except the nightlight in the corner but he can make out the shadow of his lover.

"Bellamy?"

Bellamy pauses mid-step, his shoulders slumping at the realization that Gabriel is awake.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Gabriel lifts the blankets up, inviting his dark haired lover back to the warm bed and Bellamy slides under them, his feet brushing Gabriel's legs and Gabriel hisses at how cold they are.  
He really should get a rug for the bathroom floor or get Bellamy's socks for Christmas, if he's going to be walking around his house barefoot in the middle of winter.

He pulls the other man closer to him, his hand on Bellamy's waist, fingers dipping into the waistband of his boxers.

"What's up? You've been acting weird since Roan called you at lunch. This is the fourth time you have gotten out of bed."

Bellamy's eyes focus on the hickey on Gabriel's neck, avoiding the question. 

But Gabriel has mastered the art of patience with his students and past exes and he has also in the past year learned how to coax things out of Bellamy.

He scoots a bit closer to Bellamy and rubs soothing circles on Bellamy's hip bone, his voice soft.

"I know you don't really like talking about the shit that's bothering you but I'm worried. You didn't eat much of dinner today, you have been tossing and turning all night and you didn't even point out the inaccuracies in the doc-"

"Clarke's back."  
Gabriel pauses before he pulls Bellamy closer to him. Wrapping his arm around Bellamy's waist, he presses a kiss to his forehead and Bellamy lets out a soft sigh.

There's not much Gabriel can say in response about that.

He's never met Clarke Griffin, not really. He has seen pictures of her and she's gorgeous- long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a mole above her lip, curvy, paint on her fingers or her cheekbones or her arm, usually attached at hip with Bellamy. 

He has also heard a lot about her- Bellamy's best friend, daughter of an engineer and doctor, artist, gifted baker, hustler at cards, the Princess of trivia, usually logical in all things. 

Logical in all things except when it came to love.

* * *

Gabriel had heard bits and pieces of the story from everyone. None of them were good at keeping secrets or being discreet or had mastered the art of whispering properly. He however, had gotten the full story from Bellamy during one of their many pillow talks.

Clarke had started dating Lexa about a year ago and a month into their relationship Lexa had gotten a job offer in Polis. The offer was too good to turn down. She asked Clarke to come with her and to everyone's surprise, Clarke had said yes. 

No one really thought it was a good idea not their friends, not her mother, and certainly not Bellamy. 

But Abby’s relationship with her daughter was strained and she didn’t push the issue. 

Her other friends all asked her if she was sure, they asked her if she thought she was moving too fast. Clarke had laughed and the topic was dropped. 

But Bellamy was the only one who had actually said something, who wouldn’t let the conversation drop. 

She and Bellamy argued about it many times, Bellamy thought that it was a mistake, that it was too fast, that they barely knew each other, that Clarke wasn't thinking logically. Clarke disagreed, she was happy with Lexa, caught up in her exciting new relationship with the pretty green-eyed brunette, she argued that this would be a great opportunity for her, Polis was full of art galleries. She wanted to be spontaneous for once in her life.

According to Bellamy, one night, they had a big fight that had spiraled, going from a semi-reasonable discussion to shouting. Some words had been thrown,- he had talked about the fact that she moved so fast with Finn and had been so blind to all the signs that pointed to the fact that Finn had been cheating on her (something he had told her he was worried about) and Clarke furious at the mention of her ex and at how Bellamy had been right then, had hit him back saying that his need to take care of everyone, that his love was suffocating to the point that Octavia probably had moved away to a college on the other side of the country just to get away from him (something that Bellamy had told her on multiple occasions that he blamed himself for). 

Their words got angrier after that and Bellamy's hair was a mess from all the time he had run a hand through it and Clarke's cheeks were pink from anger. Eventually, Bellamy seeing that Clarke wasn't going to listen had told her that he was done with this- meaning the argument and situation. He was going to go to bed, to nurse his broken heart and resort himself to the fact that the woman he loved was going to Polis. But Clarke wanting to get the last word in had cruelly said that she was done too, that she was looking forward to her life with Lexa in Polis. A life where she didn't have to worry about him breathing down her shoulder.

Bellamy's eyes had widened with hurt, his jaw had dropped, and he saw Clarke's realization that maybe she had gone too far but he was already on his way to his room, throwing stuff in his bag with the intent of crashing at Roan's for the night. He couldn’t see her at that moment, her words hitting hard and were making all the insecurities he had rise to the surface. 

He had planned to stay one, maybe two nights at Roan’s. 

But that didn’t work out. 

Clarke’s words had hurt a lot. They had done their job. They had hit hard. She had hit his biggest worry, his deepest insecurity.

Between being worried about Octavia and whether or not he drove her away and his fight with his best friend and the girl he was in love with; one night became two nights which then became two weeks, because Bellamy wanted to avoid Clarke as she and Lexa got ready to move to Polis.  
She had made up her mind. There was no point in talking about the subject anymore.  
He didn’t want to see Clarke remove her books from their bookshelf or pack up her mug collection. He wanted to put space between them. He wanted to get over her in hopes that it would make her words and the ache in his heart lessen. He was wanted to see her after his wound had healed.  
So Bellamy, turned his phone off, wanting to focus on his students, throwing himself into getting ready for the new school year, resisting the urge to call her, to fix things. If she wanted to say something, to fix things, she knew where he was staying. Clarke said she was done with him and he had learned from Clarke not to waste time on people who didn't want anything to do with him. But everyday he sat at Roan’s table wondering if today was the day Clarke would come to see him. 

It never was. 

Clarke left without a _goodbye_ or a _stay safe_ or an _I love you_ or _I'll miss you_ message. 

It had stung a lot, and Bellamy blamed himself for picking the fight, for turning off his phone, for not going home, for not calling her to fix things but as Roan and Murphy and his sister and his therapist reminded him, that argument was two-sided and she could have also said something, could have done something.

* * *

A month after Clarke had left to be with Lexa, Gabriel had moved into town just in time for the new school year. He was to be the new science teacher. He and Bellamy hit it off, bonding over their dislike of Cage Wallace and Ryker. 

Gabriel found Bellamy very attractive with his dark curls and soft brown eyes that most days were hidden by black rimmed glasses and a sprinkling of freckles on his cheeks and his back. His shoulders were broad and Bellamy was shorter than him but Bellamy’s presence made up for it. He may have been shorter than some of his students but they were all mesmerized as he rambled on and on about history. Gabriel enjoys listening to Bellamy ramble, his cheeks would get flushed, he would gesture with his hands in between running them through his hair. It was really cute. Bellamy was really cute and he was interested. 

They playfully flirted in between class periods and at lunchtime- casual touches on the arm, buying the other a coffee in the morning, whispering during the boring assemblies, an innuendo occasinally spilling from the other’s lips. They complained about student's passing notes and laughing over new seating charts, playing match maker during lunch. 

They started hanging outside of work, getting together with Bellamy's other friends for trivia night and game night and sitting with each other during the school's football games, he and Bellamy cuddling trying to keep warm by wrapping their hands around their hot chocolate or shoving them into each other’s pockets and fixing each other's beanies and scarves.

But after two and a half month of flirting with Bellamy, the other science teacher Monty had pulled him aside telling him that Bellamy wasn't good at realizing that people were flirting with him and that he was recovering from a broken heart.

So Gabriel had tried to tone down his flirting but they were still close, hanging out every weekend and texting constantly.

Towards the end of the first semester he and Bellamy had set up a weekly grading night with pizza and beer figuring that misery loves company.

* * *

It was during one of their grading nights that everything had changed. 

One cold winter night, they had been taking a break from grading, watching a history documentary. Bellamy was ranting as usual, and laughing, Gabriel playfully told him to shut up, to which Bellamy had told him to make him, a smirk on his face and well, Gabriel didn't back down from a challenge. 

He leaned in and kissed Bellamy, his hand curling around his neck, brushing the curls on the back of his head and the younger man, after a second of hesitation, had kissed him back, the bowl of popcorn spilling to the floor as they continued to make out,Gabriel pressing Bellamy flat on the couch, Bellamy's hands slipping under his shirt, the two of them losing themselves in each other. Eventually, they had made their way to Bellamy's room. Gabriel's shirt was lost somewhere between the couch and Bellamy's room and when they got to Bellamy's room, he gently shoved Bellamy against the wall, pulling Bellamy's shirt above his head before kissing Bellamy's jaw and neck, biting and sucking as he fumbled with their jeans before they fell onto the bed, their lips crashing.

The next morning, Bellamy had woken up to an empty bed that had filled him with disappointment, He didn't want to lose his friendship with Gabriel but he had a good time hooking up with Gabriel. He enjoyed the man's hands on him, the feeling of Gabriel kissing him, and later on, after the sex, Gabriel wrapping his arm around him, holding him close, being the little spoon to Gabriel's big spoon. Truth be told, he wouldn't be opposed to sleeping with Gabriel again or making it a regular thing.

But then Bellamy hears something and he makes his way to his kitchen, heart racing, to find Gabriel cooking breakfast, bacon sizzling and a pot of coffee brewing, dressed in a pair of Bellamy's sweatpants, Bellamy bites back a laugh as he notices that the hem of the sweatpants are above Gabriel's ankle. Gabriel turns around, navy blue apron covering his bare chest, spatula in hand and he smiles. He looks Bellamy up and down focusing on the bite marks he's left on Bellamy, feeling proud and Bellamy scratches the back of his neck, flushing under Gabriel's eyes.

Gabriel think that it's sweet, Bellamy is cocky, a bit of a flirt, he's normally smooth but right here, he's a tad awkward, clearly not used to doing the morning after talk that involves breakfast and not used to someone (who isn't Clarke) taking care of him. It's endearing. Bellamy's hair is a tousled mess and the black sweatpants hang low on his hips and he looks softer under in the morning light.

Gabriel has seen Bellamy drunk, he's seen him argue with Murphy, seen the adoration in his eyes when he talks to and about his sister, the anger in his eyes as Cage Wallace makes a comment about Bellamy, but this softness, this morning after vunerablity is different.

"Hey, I was going to bring you food. You looked like you needed some rest... I guess I wore you out."

Gabriel winks breaking the tension and Bellamy laughs softly, face lighting up, shoulders relaxing, at the fact that them hooking up had not made things weird between them. 

Now the question Bellamy has is whether or not Gabriel would be down to do it again.

"Last night... that was fun. I had a good time."

Gabriel turns off the stove and takes a step towards Bellamy.

"Just a good time?"

Bellamy grins taking a step towards Gabriel, and Gabriel takes another step, his fingers curling around Bellamy's hips, dipping slightly under the waistband of his pants, waiting for Bellamy to consent.

"I could use a refresher, last night was a bit of a blur." 

Bellamy teases him, his heart is pounding with anticipation at what Gabriel's next move will be.

Gabriel smirks and pushes Bellamy back until Bellamy is backed up against the kitchen counter.

"Well, then let me happily remind you."

And with that, Gabriel ducks his head down to kiss him. Bellamy's nails dig into Gabriel's arms as he kisses him back. Gone is the gentleness from last night, the laughter between two friends, the hesitance that existed the night before is gone. This kiss is both a balance between passionate and reassuring. 

Bellamy loses himself in kissing Gabriel, he tastes like peppermint and Gabriel's hand are soft on his face and the pressure and heat of Gabriel's body against is making Bellamy's head spin. It feels good, to let someone touch him so gently and kiss him so passionately. Gabriel tugs on Bellamy's bottom lip and Bellamy gasps into his mouth and Gabriel pulls away his breathing ragged. He can feel Bellamy's breath on his collarbone and Gabriel closes his eyes trying to get his heart back to a normal rate.

The two could probably have stood in that kitchen all day long if it were not for Bellamy's stomach growling. Bellamy ducks his head in embarassment, nuzzling Gabriel's collarbones and Gabriel pulls away from him.

Bellamy pouts but Gabriel kisses his forehead before he goes to pour coffee into two mugs. Bellamy grabs the plate and starts making some eggs and the two of them fall into a sort of domestic bliss, this is like every time they have hung out, except that they have seen each other naked and that Gabriel slept in his bed and now Bellamy knows that he tastes like peppermint.

* * *

Gabriel smiles as he thinks about how they spent the rest of the day in Bellamy's bed making out and hooking up in between them cuddling as they watched Criminal Minds. 

He runs a hand through Bellamy's hair and presses another kiss to it.

"How do you feel about her being back?"

Bellamy doesn't answer, having had fallen asleep in Gabriel's arms.

Gabriel sighs softly and even though Bellamy is asleep, he whispers it, "I'm worried what this means for us... I- I love you."  
He's not sure when it happened, but somewhere between the first book and in between the cuddling and breakfast making and puzzles and movie watching and paper grading and dancing in the kitchen as they bake, he had fallen in love with Bellamy Blake.

* * *

Bellamy knows that he shouldn't and really this should be a sign for him to delete the app but he keeps going back to Clarke's instagram. He still can't wrap his mind around the fact that she's back. She's back in town and according to Roan, will be at the cabin.

Bellamy hadn't gone the year before, he wasn't sure if Clarke would be there and wasn't sure what worse seeing her with Lexa there, their argument creating friction between them or Clarke not being there and knowing that he's the reason she didn't come.

So instead he and Gabriel spent the Christmas break together, they put up his tree and hung up the lights, they watched the Grinch and the Peanuts Christmas special, they made cookies that ended up burning as they got too distracted and hadn't heard the timer go off over the sounds of them grunting and the slapping of skin against skin.

* * *

But Bellamy had already decided to go this year, not wanting to miss another year, and he had been hoping to ask Gabriel to come with him, to ask him casually not make it a big deal that he was inviting the taller man to in a sense spend a month with his family in Roan's cabin. He had been hoping at the cabin to talk to Gabriel about how he didn't want to be with friends with benefits anymore, that he wanted them to date.

But Clarke being there this year threw a wrench in his plans. Because while he had fallen for Gabriel, he had never really fallen out of love for Clarke. And Clarke being back in town was messing with his mind. 

Did she knew about him and Gabriel?

Was it cruel of him to bring Gabriel with him with the feelings he had for both of them?

Was Lexa going to be there?

So while his students watched Hamilton, Bellamy made a list. But even as he wrote down the list, he already knew his what he was going to do. He just needed the courage to do so. He liked Gabriel, a lot, and he was happy with him and he deserved to be happy.

* * *

Gabriel had just sat down in the teacher's lounge, his mug filled to the brim with coffee when Bellamy slides into the chair across him. 

"You should come to cabin with me."

"Are you asking me as your friend? As your fuck buddy? Or as a buffer between you and Clarke?"

Gabriel casually stirs his coffee waiting for Bellamy to answer. 

Bellamy bites his lip as he looks at the taller man sitting across from him. 

"Honestly, all of the above. Even if we weren't sleeping together, I would hate the idea of you spending Christmas alone and I was going to ask you to come and I spent third period making a list of whether or not to still ask you because I don't want to make you uncomfortable and maybe I want my friend and fuck buddy there with me because I really like you and I could use some support and you won't push the issue and I want to show you off and..."

"There's a small part of you that wants to make Clarke jealous."

Bellamy groans, "God that sounds fucked up, like I'm don't want to use you because like you mean more to me than that. I was planning on asking you before I knew she was coming, I just was waiting for the stress of finals to die down..."

Gabriel reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers, "I know Bellamy, but I also know how hurt you are about what happened with Clarke. I know you love her." 

He's been in love with Clarke for a long time that it's as easy as breathing but his relationship with Gabriel over the year?

Well they went from co-workers to friends to friends with benefits and somehow, somewhere over the year and a half things have changed. They aren't just grading papers and hooking up, they are strolling down the farmer's market laughing, making plans for dinner, their hands intertwined. Gabriel kisses him before he rolls out of the bed and Bellamy's kitchen also has a box of Gabriel's favorite tea and a bowl of peppermints for Gabriel's peppermint addiction. They spend every weekend together, reading books, cooking, sleeping together. 

They aren't boyfriends, yet but they aren't just friends with benefits, with no strings attached anymore, haven't been for a long time. They started off as friends but now it's more than that. But Bellamy would by lying to say that he didn't have feelings for Gabriel, because he did, he just wasn't sure how to say it. 

"But I'm with you and I love-.."

"But you love Clarke too, and that's not a bad thing. You can love more than one person."

Bellamy blinks back tears, some days he can't believe how understanding Gabriel is.

"I don't deserve you."

Gabriel looks around the lounge, the few other teacher around aren't paying much attention to them so he leans across the table and kisses Bellamy softly. Then angle is uncomfortable, the table digging into his legs and his back hurts and Gabriel pulls away quickly to sit back down but its worth the soft smile on Bellamy's face and the way he raises his hands to lips.

"You deserve the world Bellamy Blake."

Bellamy opens his mouth but then the bell rings and Bellamy jumps up, "Fuck I have to go."

Gabriel watches as Bellamy jogs out the door and he picks up his coffee taking a sip. 

He smiles at the thought that Bellamy was so desperate to ask him to come to the cabin that he had raced over here in between classes. It made him giddy and he took another sip of his coffee to hide his love-struck grin.

Gabriel has been leaning against the Rover for about five minutes before Bellamy finally leaves the school building. Bellamy sees him and rushes over to the Rover, worried for Gabriel. As soon as he is within speaking distance, Bellamy pulls his scarf down from his face.

"What are you doing here? It's freezing."

Gabriel stands up, shrugging off Bellamy's concern about the cold, his hands in his pocket, "I just wanted to tell you in person that I want to come to the cabin with you."

Bellamy blinks, a grin spreading on his face and Gabriel thinks that standing outside in the cold was worth seeing the joy spread across Bellamy's face. 

"Really? It's almost whole month? Are you sure you want that?"

"A chance to spend another Christmas with you? Only a fool would say no."

Bellamy surges forward to kiss him, not caring about who might be in the parking lot. Gabriel's nose is cold and his lips are chapped but he tastes like peppermint and Bellamy loves it. He loves him. 

* * *

Unfortunately, being teachers means they don't get leave for the cabin until break officially starts and driving to the cabin is a nightmare due to the traffic, the two hour drive turning into a four hour one.  
It's both a blessing and a curse.  
Bellamy loves spending time with Gabriel, the trip down is full of them laughing and singing along to the radio, belting at the top of their lungs until their cheeks are red and they are crying from laughter. Being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic means leaning over to kiss each other softly until the line moves forward again. At one point, Gabriel pulls out a book and does a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol and as Bellamy looks over at him, a part of him wishes he could stay in this moment forever.

But being in the car also gives Bellamy a lot of time to overthink.  
The fact that he is going to see Clarke again brings back their argument to his mind but it also unlocks all his memories of her.  
He wonders if her hair is still long and he wonders if she still chips the nail polish off her fingers when she's nervous.  
He wonders how she feels about seeing him. Is she dreading it? Is she excited? Is she hoping they can fix things?

Because he wants to fix things, he misses his best friend.  
He wants to hug her, he wants to nuzzle her hair and feel her arms wrap around his waist, her nose pressed to his collarbone. 

Gabriel reaches for his hand, sensing that Bellamy Is thinking hard and Bellamy turns to look at him. Gabriel had shed his coat and cardigan earlier in the drive, leaving him in a black t-shirt. Bellamy takes a second to admire him, the way his arms look really good in the shirt, the hint of Gabriel's tattoo on his arm and Bellamy is quite familiar with. The neat beard that feels good against his skin when Gabriel kisses the freckles on his back. The strength as he holds Bellamy's hand, giving him silent comfort as he stares out the window. 

Bellamy smiles softly, he's really happy that Gabriel wanted to come with him. He's excited to spend the next few weeks with him, cuddling in front of the and making gingerbread houses.  
He's excited to see Gabriel's face when he opens his present. He's looking forward to simply being with Gabriel.  
And that's what matters- spending time with Gabriel, not anything else, not certainly not wondering if Clarke misses him the way he misses her.

But the closer they get to the cabin the more nervous Bellamy gets. His fingers are tapping on the steering wheel and Gabriel is tempted to ask Bellamy to pull over so they can crawl into the backseat and he can stroke Bellamy's hair as he gently fucks the tension and nervousness out of him. But they are already late and Gabriel rather cuddle Bellamy in their warm bed. So he simply pulls Bellamy's hand off the steering wheel and presses a kiss to it. Bellamy can feel his cheeks warm up and he's sure the top of his ears are dark but the gesture of affection brings a smile to his face and he feels calmer.  
He parks the car next to a shiny blue car and he knows instantly that it's Clarke. All the other cars are ones he's familiar with- Luna's green jeep, Murphy's truck, Roan's Hummer. His heart starts to pound again.

Bellamy clutches Gabriel's hand tightly as they walk up to the cabin. Gabriel can practically hear Bellamy'a heart pounding and he's slowly losing feeling in his hands due to the tight grip Bellamy has on his hand. He's not even sure that Bellamy is aware of how tight his grip is. 

"It's going to be fine, Bellamy. Everyone will be here and between all of us we can make sure that things between you and Clarke aren't awkward. And I'm sure you and Clarke will be able to fix things if that's what you decide to do, I want you to, I know how important she is to you. I know how much you love her."

Bellamy doesn't want to hear Gabriel talk about his love for Clarke, it sends a pang of guilt through him. He much rather talk about his love for Gabriel. 

Bellamy squeezes Gabriel's hand, "Hey Gabe?"

Gabriel turns to look at him, "Yes?"

Bellamy leans in to kiss him softly, and Gabriel lets the bag fall to his feet to cup Bellamy's face and kiss him properly. A few seconds later, Gabriel pulls away from the kiss, a soft smile on his face.

"What was that for?"

"For coming with me."

Bellamy's brown eyes are soft, vunerable and Gabriel feels a rush of affection for the other man, "There's no where else I rather be." He leans back in to kiss Bellamy, this time the kiss deeper, reassuring Bellamy of his words, easing Bellamy's nerves. The two are so caught up in kissing that they don't hear the yelling from inside the house and don't register that the door is opening until someone coughs.

They break away and turn to look at the door. Roan leans against it, arm braced, his hair is loose around his shoulder and Gabriel's not surprise to see that Roan is shirtless, in fact he's not even sure if Roan owns any shirts. Maybe he and Bellamy should have gotten Roan some shirts for Christmas. 

"About time you two got here. We were about to send a search party."  
"Traffic was a nightmare."

But Bellamy doesn't pay any attention to Roan, his eyes are on the blonde standing in front of Roan, who's looking at him lips parted in surprise.

* * *

Clarke forces a smile on her face, Roan had warned her that Bellamy was bringing a friend, she just didn't expect to find Bellamy kissing his friend- no his boyfriend, because clearly Roan left out that piece of information, on the doorstep of the cabin that for the past six months she called home. 

She's aware of Roan and Bellamy's friend talking about traffic but she's too busy looking at Bellamy. His hair is longer, but looks just as soft and he's got a beard now and it suits him. Despite the lack of sun in the winter he seems to have more freckles than the last time she saw him and she wants to find a sketch book and spend the rest of the break memorizing every single one.  
She shakes her head, _Bellamy has a boyfriend, Bellamy brought his boyfriend to the cabin._

"Come in, it's cold."  
She ducks under Roan's arm not bothering to see if they are following her, if they want to stand around kissing and freezing outside that's their business. 

The armchair is empty and she quickly dives back into her seat, pulling the blanket over her body. 

She hears Roan telling them where they can leave their stuff and she hears everyone greeting the two men, watches as Bellamy and his friend disappear under people's arms, everyone wanting to hug them.

She pulls the blanket tighter to her body, she wants nothing more than to hug Bellamy, to feel his arms wrap around her tightly, to feel him press a kiss to her hair, for him to grip her neck with the back of hand, making her feel loved and safe.

But she's not sure he wants to hug her.

Not sure she deserves a hug.

She had said a lot of things that she wishes she could take back. 

Should have taken back. 

But didn't.

Her pride and anger and hurt and fear that Bellamy was right had kept her from making amends is now biting her in the ass, which is a shame because she wants, no she needs a fucking hug. 

She needs a Bellamy hug.

She scoffs, its silly but she had hopes of wrapping her arms around Bellamy, of him telling her that he misses her as much as she missed him, of them sitting on the couch sharing soft smiles, of them laughing as they bake cookies, of kissing him under the mistletoe. But these were silly wishes.  
She doesn't get a Bellamy hug, there will be no mistletoe kisses because Bellamy brought his friend- his boyfriend.

* * *

Clarke is much prettier in person is Gabriel's first thought, she is shorter than him by a lot and her hair is shorter, streak of pink in it that suits her. She was dressed in an oversized sweater that he was pretty sure was Bellamy's and a pair of black leggings, fluffy socks on her feet. she looks cute, cozy.

Gabriel places his bag on the desk and unzips it, "She's pretty."

Bellamy's head darts up so fast that he nearly hits his head on the shelf in the closet. 

"Yeah?"

He's trying to be casual but he is failing and Gabriel pulls out some sweatpants and opens up the dresser.

"Her hair is shorter,the light pink suits her."

"She looks happy."

"She was surprised to see me... Did you tell anyone I was coming?"

"I told Roan. I don't know if he told her anything."

Gabriel pulls off his cold jeans and slips into his warm sweatpants and some new socks while Bellamy peels off his sweater and his shirt.  
Gabriel walks over to Bellamy and wraps his arm around him, kissing his shoulder.

"No place I rather be, remember? As your friend and as the guy who fucks your brains out, as your lover, and as someone who cares about and loves you, I'm happy to here with you."

Bellamy turns his head to kiss Gabriel and he walks him back toward the bed and Gabriel lets him push him down, protesting.

"Everyone is waiting..."  
Bellamy smirks at him, his brown eyes sparking with mischief.

"They can wait a little longer."

Gabriel doesn't take much convincing after that and it's not long before the room is full of them laughing, the muffled sounds of a headboard hitting the wall.

* * *

Clarke doesn't mean to overhear them having sex, she had rushed up to grab her bag for tonight's sock grab and had overheard them laughing and Bellamy moaning his friend's name- Gabriel, she had stood there in the hallway, cheeks red, lip in between her teeth. She could hear the bed creaking and the headboard hitting the wall. 

Then Roan called her name and she rushed down the stairs. She had blasts the music in hopes that no one would hear Bellamy or Gabriel upstairs and also because it gave her something else to focus on. 

Bellamy and Gabriel are the last of the group arrive everyone else having more flexible jobs that allowed them to arrive a few days earlier.

She and the other girls- Emori, Raven,and Luna haul the boxes of Christmas decorations to the living room, Roan and Murphy and Miller had already hung up the lights outside, wanting to get them done before the worst of the cold hit. 

"What's taking them so long?"

Raven's got a antler headband on her head and Luna shakes her head at her girlfriend, "They drove for four hours in traffic on the last day of school to get here, I'm sure they are exhausted. They are allowed to take a hour or two to unwind." 

Raven flops onto the couch kicking her feet in the air, "I know but I want to put the tree up now."

The others mumble in agreement and Roan pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Clarke go check on them."

"Why me?" 

"Cause you can't spend the next month avoiding Bellamy or his friend."

Clarke glares at him but Roan won't budge and she makes her way back up to the room. She knocks on the door and there's some shuffling noises before the door opens and she looks up to look at Gabriel.

He's cute, a face that begging to be drawn and she finds herself wishing that she has her sketchbook, standing in front of her, in nothing but some sweatpants he looks a lot like a greeek god but then again so does Bellamy. She catches sight of Bellamy behind him pulling a shirt over his head and Clarke licks her lips as Bellamy's brown skin disappears from view, he grabs a cardigan and Gabriel clears his throat and Clarke's eyes snap to him, her cheeks red at the fact that she was caught looking at Bellamy.

"Sorry, umm we are waiting for you two so we can decorate the tree."

His eyes light up, "We get to decorate? We'll be right down."

He lets the door slam in her face and Clarke makes her way back downstairs, the image of Gabriel and Bellamy imprinted in her brain. 

Gabriel turns to look at Bellamy who pulls his cardigan tighter over his body. Gabriel smiles at the sight of his lover in his clothes. He loves seeing Bellamy wear his cardigan,there's something appealing about it.

Gabriel pulls his shirt over his head and pulls on a cardigan. He kisses Bellamy softly before they leave the room. 

A few minutes later they are downstairs, and Clarke notices they are both wearing soft cozy looking cardigans and that's when the fun starts. Murphy and Miller are in the kitchen and Emori and Raven are working on untangling the lights for the tree. Roan's decorating the top of the tree and Gabriel get assigned to that part of the tree being the second tallest. Luna's in charge of making drinks and the music and Clarke helps the boys with the ornaments. 

For a while, it's like nothing has changed, like she and Bellamy haven't spoken to each other in over a year. The music is blasting and everyone is singing along, dancing and both Bellamy and Gabriel have smiled at her as she ducks under and around them putting the decorations on the tree. At one point Gabriel spins her around and she laughs collapsing into his chest and he smiles down at her before Bellamy calls his name. Clarke watches as Bellamy shoves a Santa hat on Gabriel's head and she ignores the pang in her heart as Gabriel kisses Bellamy's cheek. She instead focuses her attention on the tree. The tree is a mess, a mix match of decorations but Clarke loves it.

She likes their messy tree much more than her mother's fancy professional done tree.

All is going well but then Roan frowns as he realizes that something is missing, "I'm going to go find some garland" and leaves her with the two boys. Clarke's heart is pounding and suddenly she is very aware that they there.  
Luna is in the kitchen laughing with Murphy and Miller and Raven and Emori are too busy with the lights, laughing to pay them any attention and the tree is big enough to hide them from view.  
The boys seem to realize this too as they fall silent, all of them working on finishing the tree. They work in silence for what seems forever but is only actually a few minutes and then she hears Bellamy singing along softly to the song that is playing.

_Last Christmas I gave you my heart and the very next day you gave it away,_

She's sure that its an accident but he makes eye contact with her as he sings that line and it's like a knife of her heart. She drops the glass ornament she's holding and it shatters into a million pieces on the floor. Clarke is stunned but then a pair of arms are around her waist lifting her into the air and away from the glass. She clenches the thick arms that are around her was it as they bring her towards their broad chest, her eyes on Bellamy who looks stricken with guilt.  
Why does he look guilty?  
She's the one who broke his heart.

"Are you okay?"

Gabriel's hands squeeze her shoulders, breaking her out of the spell and Clarke nods. She can see Bellamy sweeping up the glass shooting her looks of concern mixed with a bit of guilt.

She runs a hand through her hair, "I'm fine. It just slipped."

Gabriel frowns at how pale she looks, "Have you had any water today?" Did you eat?"

"Ummm..." 

"Go sit, I'll get you something to drink. Don't want you passing out on us."

He hurries off before she can protest or ask why he's being so nice to her.  
As soon as Gabriel leaves Bellamy is there, wringing his hand, "Are you okay? Did any of the glass cut you?"

He looks so concerned, so much like her Bellamy that she feels tears in her eyes and Bellamy's eyes widen. 

"Clarke? What's wrong princess?"

Clarke doesn't let herself hesitate, she surges forward wrapping her arms around him and Bellamy doesn't even hesitate to wrap his arms around her tightly, burying his head into the crook of her neck. They sway in their spot, wrapped up in each other.

"I missed you."

Bellamy doesn't say anything but hugs her tighter.

They break away when Gabriel clears his throat, a glass of water in his hand. He hands her the glass and guides her to the armchair and Clarke drinks it greedily as they both look on. She shifts in her seat flustered at the intense way they are looking at her.

"The tree looks nice. We did a good job."  
Bellamy runs a hand through his hair, "We just need the angel."  
"Don't forget the lights!"  
Raven and Emori hold the untangled lights up and Luna joins them the three of them starting to wind them around the tree.  
Bellamy and Gabriel sit down on the couch across from her, the two of them whispering, hands clasped together. Clarke finds herself wishing she could join them, that she could curl up in between them, simply be near them, listen to what they are saying.  
But she's embarrassed.  
She flung herself into Bellamy's arm crying and now she wants to curl up with them.  
She tells herself its because they showed her basic human affection, Gabriel worried about her water intake the way Bellamy would worry when she forgot to eat back in college too busy studying. No one's taken that good care of her since she left Arkadia and it's making her head fuzzy.  
She looks up to see Raven, Emori, and Luna wrapping the lights around the tree Roan throwing tinsel at them, the four of them laughing and she smiles as Roan dips Luna, her curls brushing the floor before she springs back up. Raven nudges Emori's shoulder and the two girls laugh as Roan and Luna begin to tango.

* * *

Bellamy hands her the angel and Clarke stands up and look at the tree, a frown on her face, "I'm going to need a ladder."

Gabriel isn't one to waste time nor does he want Clarke on a ladder, he's already having visions of her swaying and falling off. 

So he grabs her waist and lifts her up, Clarke squeals nearly letting go of the angel and Bellamy nearly has a heart attack. The fact that Gabriel can easily lift Clarke up shouldn't be so hot but it is and he watches as Clarke places the angel on the tree and then as Gabriel places Clarke back on the floor, his biceps flexing. 

Clarke turns to look at Gabriel, peering at him through her eyelashes, her hand on his chest.

"Thanks."

"Anything for Bellamy's best friend."

Clarke's eyes dart to Bellamy and her voice is sad, quiet, "We aren't friends anymore."

Gabriel brushes a strand of hair out of her face, "That can change, all it takes is for someone to say something."  
He really shouldn't be meddling but he knows how badly Bellamy wants to fix things with her and if he can give that little push...

He steps back towards Bellamy and Clarke watches as Bellamy tucks himself into Gabriel's side the two of them sinking onto the couch. 

Clarke makes her way back to her armchair and watches as the rest of their friends trickle in, coupling up. Emori and Murphy. Raven, Luna, and Roan squeezing onto one couch. Miller's boyfriend isn't here as he wasn't able to get the time off but he's talking to Gabriel and Bellamy and Clarke sighs. She's happy to be home but her eyes keep landing on Bellamy and Gabriel, if this was any other year she would be tucked into Bellamy's side, his arm around her shoulder. But instead Gabriel's arm is around his shoulder and she sighs. It would be so east to hate Gabriel but he makes Bellamy smile and Bellamy looks happy and judging but the way that Gabriel fretted over her earlier, he's kind and strong, very strong.

* * *

Clarke makes sure that she gets a seat near Gabriel and Bellamy, seeing how happy Bellamy was made her realize that she wanted to get to know the man who made him happy better. If she wanted to fix things with Bellamy what better way than to get to know Bellamy's boyfriend, who seems to be pushing for them to reconcile.  
Clarke isn't expecting to find that she and Gabriel have a lot of things in common, she's not expecting him to be into art or for him to have had an interest in science. They spend dinner and then the next few hours talking about med school and how they both realized that it wasn't for them. 

Bellamy's not sure how to feel about Clarke and Gabriel hitting it off. He was expecting for him and Clarke to have more tension, for someone to bring up his fight with Clarke. He wasn't expecting for her to cry in her arms, for his heart to nearly jump out of his chest when he saw the glass ornament shatter. He wasn't expecting to see how gently Gabriel was with Clarke or for him to life her up. But most surprisingly, he wasn't expecting for Gabriel and Clarke to be eagerly discussing Van Gogh and Picasso. They get into a debate about pastels and watercolors of all things that watching them argue, Gabriel waving his fork, leaning forward to talk to Clarke as she argued back, cheeks pink, a smirk on her lips to be so hot and Bellamy ends up focusing on his cake during dessert before. They move onto to talking about the best place to draw as they clean dinner and then talk about Monet and Dali on the floor as they gather to watch a movie, the two of them whispering. The others trickle off to bed eventually, tiredness getting to them and Bellamy's exhausted so he leaves Gabriel and Clarke talking, the two of them laughing about Munch.

Gabriel crawls into bed late, so caught up in talking to Clarke that Bellamy's already curled up blankets piled high. Bellamy mummers sleepily to him as scoots closer to his lover and Gabriel kisses his shoulder, "Sorry Bell."

"S't okay. Missed you."  
Bellamy turns around to face him and nuzzles his collarbone and intertwines their leg together before falling back asleep and Gabriel runs a hand down his back.  
He's glad that Bellamy is sleeping, his earlier nerves gone.

Bellamy nuzzles his collarbone and intertwines their legs and Gabriel runs a hand down his back.  
He had a good conversation with Clarke, the two of them having a lot in common in regards to being creative.They were also two people who once considered the medical field, they liked the same music and of course, they had Bellamy in common. 

She is cute and smart and funny and a kind and fiery and honestly he could see how Bellamy fell in love with his best friend.

* * *

Clarke can't sleep, she's too busy thinking about Gabriel. 

She didn't expect to have so much in common and she didn't expect for them to stay up so late talking. 

She could see what Bellamy saw in him and even thought a part of her was jealous she couldn't have picked a better person for him.

He was cute and smart and kind and attentive, he was perfect for Bellamy. She could see how Bellamy fell for Gabriel.

Clarke's conversation with Gabriel the night before gave her the confidence boost that she desperately needed so the next day she makes the decision to ask Bellamy if they could talk.  
Instead of joining everyone at the lake for some ice skating, she spends the morning practicing in the mirror how to ask Bellamy if they could talk and what she would say to him.  
(A much better alternative then seeing Bellamy and Gabriel be all cute while they skate.)  
It shouldn't be so nerve wracking but it is.

Clarke loves ice skating, and the fact that she won't be joining them confuses Bellamy. He was looking forward to watching her try to skate. She can't skate to save her life but she likes it anyway. She laughs when she falls, not caring how the cold would sweep into her pants and her coat, she would have one of them pull her up. His favorite part about skating is Clarke holding his hands, the two of them slipping and sliding and falling, his second favorite part- the hot chocolate she makes.

Gabriel's a great skater and really Bellamy should have known because the man once mentioned that he played hockey. It's different having someone who can pull him around the ice, skating backwards, different but fun, Not a lot of falling and Gabriel and Roan end up having a race, Roan won of course, but considering that he's the Ice King, no one is surprised.

Clarke decides to make hot chocolate for everyone, there is only so much practicing in front of a mirror one can do, besides Bellamy loves her hot chocolate.  
She boils the milk and melts some of the chocolate melts Murphy has and pulls out the marshmallow, dipping them into the melted chocolate, adds some sprinkles and then lets the chocolate harden. She stirs the chocolate into the milk and then pulls out all the mugs. She realizes that Gabriel doesn't have a mug and she wonders if she has a enough time to run to the store to get him his own mug, or if she should make him one. It won't be ready in time but it's nice gesture and a good present.  


As soon as she hears the cars pulling up, she starts to pour the hot chocolate, and adding the marshmallows.  
Roan gets one, Raven gets seven, Murphy would have the whole bag if he could, Miller gets regular ones not a fan of the chocolate dipped. Bellamy gets a handful and whipped cream and she makes Gabriel the same.  


As soon as Bellamy sees the hot chocolate he smiles and he moves toward her with the intent of pressing a kiss to her cheek before he pauses realizing what he was about to do. Her breaking down in his arms didn't meant they were back to being best friend. So he settles for squeezing her shoulder.  
"Thanks."  
He hands Gabriel his mug and he pauses to watch the taller man raise the mug to his nose, savoring the smell and a relaxed smile appears on his face.  
The first taste of it is heavenly and Gabriel moans and it sounds so much like the moan she heard that yesterday that Clarke feels warm.  
He looks at Clarke, "You made this? Bellamy was right, tastes like heaven."  
Clarke blushes under his praise and tucks some hair behind her ear and looks at Bellamy, "You told him about my hot chocolate?"  
Bellamy takes a long sip from his mug not sure what to say, scrambling for words.  
He swallows the sip and then not looking at Clarke but at his mug he responds, "Of course I did. Best hot chocolate in the world."  


While they had been caught up in their little bubble, the others had grabbed their hot chocolate and had scattered. Roan to work out, Murphy and Emori and Raven for a game of pool, Luna was going to read and Miller was going to nap. 

Clarke was happy, she didn't really want to talk to Bellamy with an audience around. 

She places her hand on his arm and Bellamy freezes at the warmth of her hand.

She swallows looking up at him, "I was wondering if we could talk?"

Bellamy can hear his heart pounding and he wonders if Clarke and Gabriel can hear it too. 

Clarke's eyes are looking at him, he can see the hope in her eyes that he will say yes and a hint of worry that he will say no.

He thinks about how good it felt to hug her yesterday, how it felt like home.

He looks at Gabriel, the two of them having a silent conversation.

 _You should say yes_

_I want to I'm just worried that it will get worse_

_You miss her, just go talk to her. Fix this._

_Okay. love you._

_i love you too_

Gabriel wraps his arms around Bellamy's shoulder and pulls him toward him, Bellamy tucking himself into his side and he kisses Bellamy's forehead, reassuring him that it's going to be okay and if it's not he will be there.

It shouldn't hurt to see Bellamy's eyes fly to Gabriel, and it shouldn't hurt her to see Gabriel give him a reassuring nod and a kiss on his forehead. It shouldn't hurt her to see them having a conversation with their eyes but it does because that was always her and Bellamy's thing. 

But it send a pang of hurt to her heart and she pushes the feelings of hurt and jealousy down. Gabriel and Bellamy are together, of course they will have these silent conversations together (but she and Lexa never had those), of course Gabriel gets to kiss Bellamy's forehead and forehead kisses are better, softer, sweeter, than cheek kisses.

"I'm going to take a nap. Come join me, when you two are done?"

The second question is directed at Bellamy but Gabriel's eyes are on Clarke.

_Please be gentle._

_I promise not to hurt him._

_Im holding you to it, he's important to me._

_He's important to me too._

_I know._

Gabriel brushes the small of Bellamy's back as he heads up, he hears Clarke suggest that they go to Roan's study.  
They lock themselves up in Roan's study after promising Roan not to throw anything.

* * *

Bellamy sinks into a chair, his leg shaking. He shouldn't be so nervous about this, Clarke was the one who asked if they could talk and after last night's _I miss you_ and hug he doesn't think this will be a bad talk but at the same time he doesn't want to talk about the hurt he is feeling, doesn't want to talk about the stuff that should have not been said. He doesn't want to rehash it all, bring up hurt feelings.  
Clarke's fingers tap on her mug of hot chocolate. She knows that she has to be the one to say something, to start this off.

"You were right, you know."

Bellamy's not expecting her to start off with that and he stares at Clarke wide-eyed. 

She gives him a sad smile.  
"Lexa and I- we barely lasted three months. We clashed a lot and Polis, it wasn't right for me. I wasn't happy and things just went wrong. You were right. "  
Bellamy chuckles, softly, sadly.  
"You know, I thought I would have been happier about being right but I'm not... do- do you want to talk about..."

Clarke takes a sip of her drink before answering, trying to gather her thoughts "No, we, we only worked in our bublle, where we could pretend that the real world existed, the truth is it should have never goen longer than that summer. Anyway, Lexa is in the past and we are done, been done for almost a year. I stayed in Polis tried to stick it out but it was awful so six months ago I moved here, to the cabin, just until I can figure out arrangements for living in Arkadia."

Bellamy blinks all this time Clarke was only two hours away from him? 

He feels a flash on anger towards Roan who must have known and never said a word. But he also feels guilty, Clarke had been alone, she probably needed a friend but pride and anger and fear on both of their ends had gotten in their way.  
_But if you knew, would you have stayed with Gabriel?_  
Bellamy shakes his head, there is no point in thinking of past what ifs.

"Your room is still available, you know."  
Clarke giggles, her nose crinkling, her eyes bright with happiness and hope.

"I thought you would have rented it out."  
Bellamy shrugs as he takes another sip of his mug,  
"I did, Roan's renting it. I think he was hoping you would come back to..."  
_me_  
Clarke places her drink on the desk and braces herself on it, shoulders slumping, her blonde hair falling out of the messy bun she had put it in earlier.  
"I wanted to, but I- I was just scared you would slam the door. I wouldn't have blamed you if you did, the stuff I said... I think about it a lot, I regret it."  


Bellamy places his mug on the table next to him and his hand circles her wrist and she turns to look at him, Her eyes are full of tears and Bellamy's heart softens and he feels the last of his hurt disappear.  
He tugs her towards him and she lands on his lap and he places on hand on her leg. She wraps her arms around his neck, and turning her body, starts crying into his shirt. He runs a soothing hand up and down her back and tuck her under his chin. Clarke can feel some of Bellamy's tears hitting her hair and she twists Gabriel's cardigan under her fingers. Bellamy still smells the same- pine, a hint of coconut from his shampoo, and a hint of peppermint from Gabriel's cardigan. 

"I shouldn't have told you that I wanted to leave you. As soon as you left I regretted what I said and I waited all night in hopes you could come back and we could fix things."

Bellamy could picture it, Clarke sitting on the couch in his shirt, blanket on her lap, eyes on the door, waiting for him to walk through the door.  
"I couldn't face you, it hurt too much."  
Clarke presses her forehead against his, "I'm so sorry Bellamy, I should have never said that..."  
"No, I shouldn't have said..."

"Will you let me apologize?

Bellamy laughs, nudging her nose with his, "Are we really arguing over who gets to apologize?"

Clarke shakes her head, "I missed you, I kept thinking about calling you but I didn't know what to say. I was scared that you were going to be right, I liked Lexa and I thought we could make it work. I ignored you and the little voice in my head, telling me that moving away was a mistake."  
"I shouldn't have been so- so possessive. I should have been more understanding."

"Bellamy, you aren't possessive, protective yes but not possessive. I should have never said that you love was suffocating. Or said what I said about Octavia."  
"No, Actually, I talked to Octavia, we started seeing a therapist, once every two weeks online. We aren't perfect but it's getting better."

"That's good, I'm glad you two are fixing things."

They are silent for a bit, Clarke resting her head on his shoulder, his hand on her lap, holding hers, rubbing circles on it.  
"I should have come back sooner, fixed things before I left."

Bellamy sighs, his breath shifting some of her hair, "I could have said something too, but we can't change things. And if anything, this all helped me, it gave me the push to see someone, it gave me a chance to unlearn unhealthy habits. But if you want forgiveness, I can give that to you."  
Bellamy is surprise that the words are true. Clarke lets more of her tears fall and Bellamy hugs her tightly, her heart feels lighter and she feels happy that she and Bellamy are okay. 

They leave the room hand in hand and Gabriel smiles sleepily, when he sees them from his spot on the couch, where he's laying down. He pushes himself into a sitting position.  
Gabriel's arm wraps around Bellamy's shoulder, pulling him into the chest and Clarke looks away as they share a gentle kiss. Bellamy is happy and she should be happy for him, seeing him kiss Gabriel shouldn't hurt her, it shouldn't make her jealous. Gabriel fixes the blanket around them both.

She and Bellamy just had bad timing and his happiness mattered more than anything else.  
She starts to head to her arm chair when Gabriel stops her.

"Wait, I was hoping we could continue our conversation from yesterday."  
"Now?"  
"Why not?"  
Clarke joins them on the couch, legs curled up under her and she and Gabriel get lost in their conversation about watercolors.

* * *

Bellamy is happy, he's got Gabriel on one side of him and Clarke on the other and all is well. Things are great.

All is well and the next few days go smoothly.

Bellamy isn't expecting for him and Clarke to slide back into friendship, he's expecting for them to tiptoe back into things, for it to be awkward but it's like nothing happened.

She presses a kiss to his cheek at breakfast the next morning and everyone at the table falls silent and cheerfully asks Bellamy and Gabriel if they want to go with her to the store, she wants to pick up some art supplies. The of course say yes. Bellamy figures he can go to the bookstore while she gets her supplies and they will meet up later.

Clarke tosses him his car keys and it's like they are sixteen again and she's riding shotgun in his car except that its Gabriel who's riding shot gun, Clarke in between them, her legs near the shift stick.  
Gabriel goes with Clarke to the art store and Bellamy keeps himself busy at the bookstore, they find him curled up in a corner, nose pressed to a book and Clarke snaps a picture of and sends it to Gabriel.

Neither of them want to bother him so they go to grab some coffee. Bellamy finishes his book, realizes how much time has past and finds them laughing, heads bent close, Gabriel's hand on Clarke's.  
He knows that Gabriel isn't the cheating type and Clarke would never do that not after Finn but it doesn't stop the wave of jealousy to wash over him.  
But he pushes it away and they look up at him and Gabriel tugs him into a light kiss and Bellamy forgets about his jealousy and the way Gabriel looks at Clarke.

He loves catching up with everyone and he enjoys being able to sleep in cuddling with Gabriel. He loves baking with Murphy and helping Roan finish Raven's present- a new tool bench. He and Miller and the other guys have a snowball fight and he and Gabriel press kisses on Clarke's cheek when she hands them hot chocolate, and her cheeks turn red and Roan notices the way she touches her face gently.  
He raises an eyebrow, this is going to be interesting and not something he expected but it will be fun to watch.

Clarke joins them for the next snowball fight and the three of them team up for a snowball fight and her cheeks are a soft pink and her eyes are so bright and Bellamy wants to kiss her. The thought fills him with guilt cause he shouldn't want to kiss her not when he always has someone.  
They tumble inside, their toes and noses cold and Gabriel wraps his cardigan around her shoulders and Bellamy's heart pounds. He pulls his cardigan tighter and take a deep breath of the peppermint and tells himself that Clarke is cold, and Gabriel is a sweetheart and he's lucky to have someone like Gabriel who cares so much about his best friend.

Besides, he has no reason to be jealous of them, not when the thought of kissing Clarke's pink lips has crossed his mind earlier. He has no right at all to be jealous of the smiles that Clarke gives Gabriel or the way Gabriel's hand lingers on her shoulders or the way he gently lifts her hair our from under the cardigan.

But he watches as Gabriel steals a candy cane from Clarke's hand and the way she laughs as Gabriel slips it into his mouth, swirling it around and pulling it with a loud pop. 

Bellamy turns away annoyed and he isn't feeling really thirsty anymore and decides a nap is in order. He doesn't see the way Clarke' eyes darken and the way they drop to Gabriel's lips but Roan does.

He peels off the cardigan, his shirt and socks and kicks off his pants. He climbs into bed in nothing but his underwear needing to feel the coolness of the sheets under him.  
He tosses and turns the thought of Clarke's lips and Gabriel's hands consuming his mind.

He wakes up to someone pressing kisses to his shoulders, Gabriel's breath nuzzling his hair as he makes his way to the back of his neck and then to his ear, tugging on the lobe gently. Gabriel's hand that is on his waist slides slowly towards the tent in his boxers.  
"Good dream?"  
Bellamy's mind flashes to his dream- Clarke's blonde curls and pale creamy skin under his fingers, Gabriel's strong hands on him, the feeling of his beard against his skin, both of them laughing, their lips on him and he lets out a shuttered gasp as Gabriel's hand wraps around him.  
Bellamy closes his eyes, all he can hear is Clarke laughing and Gabriel whispering, the two of them touching him, kissing him, loving him.  
He's panting, moving his hips and Gabriel kisses his shoulder.  
"Let go for me."  
Bellamy does and then he buries his head into his pillow, ashamed of his dream and of his recent thoughts.  
He can feel Gabriel leaving the bed and then Gabriel is cleaning him off gently before climbing back into bed, his bare skin pressing against Bellamy's. The warmth from Gabriel's body lures him back to sleep and he sighs softly.

* * *

Bellamy wakes up, head cloudy from all the swirling, pressing thoughts he is having. He feels embarrassed about his dream of both Clarke and Gabriel. It's not right. Gabriel is his lover, Clarke is his friend, they just fixed their friendship. He shouldn't be thinking thoughts that could ruin the friendship especially when he has Gabriel, who treats him so well and loves him. 

He tells himself that the only reason for his dream was simply because he misses Clarke and he once loved her.

_You still do_

He loves Gabriel.

_You love them both- You love Gabriel, even though you never meant to love him and you still love Clarke, you never got over her_

Bellamy ignores the voices in his head and spends the day with Miller playing video games, Raven commandeering the other controller and kicking their asses soundly. Gabriel and Clarke and Murphy waltz in a few hours later, trays of sandwiches in their hands and the others trinkle in with drinks.  
They argue over what movie to see and Bellamy pokes Gabriel's leg with his feet, the blue knitted socks keeping his toes warm. They had woken up with orders to wear their special holiday socks today. Gabriel's are a pretty white with snowflakes, his are a navy blue, and Clarke's are a red.  
While the others argue about a movie, Clarke nudges his shoulder.  
"Why do they always argue? We always end up watching the same movie."  
"Tradition."  
She laughs and Gabriel leans in, "What am I missing?"  
Bellamy and Clarke exchange a look, "Nothing."  
Gabriel pouts and Clarke laughs, leaning over Bellamy, to shove his shoulder, nearly toppling over onto him, her hand resting on his thigh. Bellamy can feel himself stirring and he moves his leg. "Going to grab a drink, be right back. "

He gets back to find Clarke in his spot, her feet pointed to the fire, Gabriel and her laughing. He knows he shouldn't feel jealous, it's innocent. How many times has Luna stolen one of his hoodies? How many times as Raven and him gotten so caught up in a conversation that it used to drive her ex Wick insane.  
Friends talk, it's normal.  
But he didn't expect for them to get along so well and neither did anyone else.

And he's happy that they are getting along, that Gabriel isn't alone while he's with the others. He likes seeing Gabriel and Roan work out, Gabriel shirtless and sweaty, he likes watching Luna and Gabriel play card games- Raven and Roan cheering her on while he and Clarke cheer Gabriel on. Gabriel surprises Murphy by offering to go on a grocery run with him and when they come back Murphy catches Bellamy's eyes and smiles. He and Emori sit and do a puzzle, the two of them sharing stories about Murphy and Bellamy.  
And its great seeing everyone like Gabriel, he wants them to like him. 

But seeing Clarke and Gabriel is different.  
Every time he sees Clarke and Gabriel talking, head close together, every time he hears them laughing he gets a flash of jealously.  
Which he shouldn't considering his thoughts of pressing Clarke against the wall and kissing her and his dreams of both of them in his bed.

He tells himself that its just weird for the two people he loves to get along so well, considering that Gabriel knows the type of love he felt for Clarke. Bellamy tells himself that he's projecting his desires onto them, so he feels less guilty.

But then Clarke comes to dinner one evening, cheeks pink, Gabriel's cardigan pulled over her shirt and Bellamy ends up chugging his beer.

It sounds silly but he's very fond of Gabriel's cardigans. He loves wearing them they are a bit big on him and they smell like Gabriel and he feels safe. And this is different than Gabriel giving Clarke his cardigan after a snowball fight, they haven't left the house all day today, there's no reason she would be cold. And logically, he knows that Clarke wearing Gabriel's cardigan probably means nothing but he wants to tug the cardigan off Clarke and then tug off the shirt she is wearing which is his... she's wearing his shirt.

Gabriel's cardigan and his shirt on Clarke does something for him and the way Clarke nudges his leg with her toes, laughing blonde hair spilling down her shoulders, doesn't help and as soon as dinner is over Bellamy is tugging Gabriel to their room, slamming the door and kissing him hard. He tugs off Gabriel's cardigan and Gabriel pushes him towards the bed, crawling on top of him, kissing him hard as they tug their clothes off.

Bellamy knows it's wrong but he thinks about Clarke, about Clarke in Gabriel's cardigan and his shirt watching them, kissing them, joining them.

He likes the idea a lot.

* * *

Clarke jumps as Murphy cackles out of nowhere, everyone turns to look at him as he doubles over. Emori places a hand on his shoulder whispering to him and then she bursts into laughter. Clarke taps her foot waiting for Murphy to stop laughing, she's well aware of the fact that Gabriel is standing right next to her, the heat of his body sending a shiver down her spine. 

"Are you going to let us in on the joke?"

Emori tugs their girlfriend towards them and whispers in her ear and Raven's eyes meet Clarke and then flicker up above her head and Clarke's heart sinks.

Oh no.

Oh fuck.

Behind her she hears Gabriel curse softly and she tilts her head up to see the spring of mistletoe hanging above their heads.

Clarke's eyes flash to Roan who simply shrugs, behind him Bellamy looks stunned, he's not looking at her, looking over her shoulder so she's sure that he's communicating silently to Gabriel. She tries to ignore the pang of jealously she feels, that used to be their thing, and their thing only. She's just not used to him doing that with anyone else, but she's also in no place to judge either, she and Gabriel has had plenty of wordless conversations full of them simply looking at each other, communicating silently.

Bellamy's eyes flicker to her and she swallows hard as their eyes meet. She's forgotten how how much she loves it when he looks at her, like that. Bellamy had a way of making her feel like she was the only one in the room, the only conversation that matters.

Even now, after everything and with a boyfriend, he can still instill that feeling of love and desire and fondess in her. Feelings she shouldn't be having for someone who isn't hers. 

Gabriel's hand on her hips breaks her out of her thoughts and she jumps, turning away from Bellamy to look at Gabriel.

She gives him a soft, half timid smile, honestly if Gabriel wasn't attached to Bellamy, she would gladly sleep with him. If they had met in any other place- the gym, the bar,she would have flirted with him until they tumbled into her bed or he took her aganist the wall of the bathroom stall. 

The fact that he and Bellamy are together are what is keeping her from making a move- on either of them. Not that stops her from thinking about them, dreaming about them both.  
Fantasizing about Bellamy and Gabriel kissing her, their hands on her body, pressing themselves against her body, of them sliding into her.  
Gabriel's handsome, it's something she noticed when she first saw him, thinking about how good he and Bellamy looked together. He's taller than both her and Bellamy, the spring of mistletoe only a few inches above his head, the white streak in his hair begging for her attention. His arms look just as strong as Bellamy, like he could pick her up like a rag doll. Under the white Christmas lights his brown skin glows.

"We don't have to..."

Gabriel steps closer to her, "It's tradition, besides it's just a kiss right?"

Just a kiss.

Clarke licks her lips, heart about to burst out of her chest, he's right it's just a kiss.

Friends kiss all the time.

She has definitely kissed her friends- Raven, Murphy, Roan, Luna, Octavia, Wells, Anya she even kissed Bellamy one night, not that he remembers. 

_But you and Gabriel aren't really friends, you like him, you like Bellamy and he's Bellamy's_ the little voice in her head sings.

She ignores the voice in favor of rising to her tiptoes just as Gabriel cups her face with his large hands, leaning in to kiss her.

It's just a harmless kiss under the mistletoe.  
It's just a kiss.  
It means nothing.

He tastes like peppermint is her first thought, her second is that she doesn't want him to stop kissing her. She didn't expect for Gabriel's hands to be so gentle or for the passion behind his kiss. Her hands clutch his cardigan and she loses herself in the kiss. He bites on her bottom lip gently and she gasps into his mouth.

She hears a wolf whistle and they break away, she and Gabriel are both panting and his eyes are dark with desire and she steps back. She wasn't expecting that.  
She wasn't expecting to get swept up.  
She wasn't expecting for her heart to be pounding ever faster, for the urge to pull Gabriel back to her lips to call out to her. 

She turns to look for Bellamy who's looking at them jaw tense, his eyes dark and Clarke shivers. She excuses herself, ignoring all the teasing, and goes to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She braces herself on the sink, taking in deep breaths.

_Bellamy is your friend. Gabriel is his boyfriend, his lover, his partner. Bellamy is just your friend. You need to get over him. Gabriel is with Bellamy, you can't be into him._

But she knows she can tell herself that over and over again and won't mean anything.  
She's been in love with Bellamy for a while, dating other people in hopes that she could fall out of love with him and with someone else.  
Not that it ever work.  
And despite her love for Bellamy, she did love Finn and Lexa, it just didn't compare to the way she loves Bellamy.

But this is different, both men make her heart pound and her cheeks flush and her knees weak and she has to stop herself from constantly seeking them out, from constantly wanting to touch them and ask them to touch her. 

And this kiss? This kiss just blew through her last defenses. 

As she leaves the bathroom, she hears two people and she looks out to find Bellamy and Gabriel making out against Roan's door. Bellamy pushes Gabriel off him and they dash to their room hand in hand. Gabriel presses him against the wall of their room, his hand tugging on Bellamy's sweatpants and she hears Bellamy moan as Gabriel's teeth scrape his neck, his fingers curling around Gabriel's arms before he attempts to pull the cardigan off the taller boy. They stumble into their room, Gabriel's cardigan falling to the floor before the door slams and Clarke rushes down the stairs needing some air.

She should not lust after her best friend's boyfriend. She should not be lusting after Bellamy. She should not be thinking of two men who are happy together, kissing her, touching her, holding her hands. 

But then she catches sight of a candy cane and she thinks about Gabriel kissing her and she wonders if Bellamy can tase her cherry chapstick on Gabriel's lips. 

The idea shouldn't excite her so much.

* * *

Everyone seems to forget about the kiss that Gabriel and Clarke shared, (and why wouldn't they? it's not even the most interesting kiss of the week- Roan and Murphy taking the cake for the most dramatic and heart stopping kiss with Roan dipping Murphy and Murphy swooning, hand pressed to his chest declaring that he and Roan are going to run off together and then the two of them actually getting into the car).  
Everyone but Clarke and Gabriel and Bellamy that is. 

Suddenly all of them are aware of the other. Every smile Clarke sends Bellamy's way, every hug make him want to profess his love, he wants to slide his hand under her shirt and feel her soft skin under his fingers and every time that Gabriel's hand touches her, Clarke wants to beg him to kiss her again, she wants to ask him to put his hands on her and bring her to her knees.

* * *

It's just a kiss.

That was the lie Gabriel told himself, when he realized that they were under the mistletoe together. 

But even he knew that was a lie. 

In the week and a half that he and spent with Clarke, he could see why Bellamy had fallen in love and why Bellamy had a hard time getting over her. Clarke was magnetic, she had a way of drawing people's attention.

She is smart and witty, and pretty and kind. She is stubborn, a horrible cook but a talented artist. She fit perfectly into Bellamy's side and she looks good in his cardigans, the hem trailing at her knees. He likes her laughs and he knows that Bellamy still likes her.

He hasn't told the other boy yet but Bellamy has muttered her name in his sleep, not that he could blame him, he couldn't get the taste of Clarke's cherry chapstick out of his mind. He had taken to sucking on more peppermints, to stop himself from doing something stupid like dragging Clarke under the mistletoe and kissing her or pressing Bellamy against the wall and kissing and sucking on his neck as Bellamy made the prettiest sounds.

And if Clarke is around when he's kissing Bellamy or Bellamy's around when he makes Clarke's laugh and he sees their eyes darken, well that's good.

Gabriel knows he's playing with fire that Bellamy ad Clarke might not realize that the feelings between them are mutual, that they may not want this, might now want him, that this could break all of their hearts but sooner or later, Gabriel knows that there will have to be some sort of talk. 

And he's ready. 

He knows what he wants. 

He wants Bellamy and Clarke. 

Gabriel wants to kiss them both, he wants to date them both, he wants to sleep with them both, wake up with both of them curled up in his arms. He wants to kiss Clarke's forehead and Bellamy's freckles. He wants to find Clarke sitting at the table sketching and Bellamy grading papers next to her, soft smiles as he joins them with his own grading.

He can see it.

He can see them, and how good the three of them would look together, how happy they can be.

The question is how do they go from two to three.

He's familiar with having more than one partner in bed, his ex Josie was fond of bringing extra people into the bedroom for them to sleep with, but Gabriel wonders if its different when he's attracted to both people not just physically but emotionally as well. There's a difference between finding someone to sleep with and finding someone to date and potentially spend the rest of your life with. 

He loves Bellamy and while he and Clarke have gone from strangers to friends, he could very easily grow to love her the way he loves Bellamy, he's halfway there.

So Gabriel sets up his plan to get them to consider the idea, he's got roughly two weeks before the break is over and everyone heads home. He starts setting two cardigans out before he goes to bed- one for him to wear and then later give to Clarke, for when she gets cold and one for Bellamy, for when he wakes up and crawls out of bed. When he sees Clarke slip her arms through the sleeves of the cardigan, bringing it up to her nose and letting out a soft happy hum and see Bellamy roll up the sleeve of his cardigan, Bellamy's forearms on display, it makes him grin like a fool. 

He finds things to do that involves all three of them- sledding, Clarke's arms wrapped around Bellamy as he watches them laugh, as they tumble down the hill. His arms wrapped around Clarke as they slid down. They go ice skating, he and Clarke dragging Bellamy along, the man in between them, shaking but letting them help him skate. 

Clarke has to do a grocery run the day before Christmas and he volunteers him and Bellamy, Bellamy driving, Clarke riding shot gun, the two of them laughing and talking slowly catching up as Gabriel simply listens. He sees the soft smiles and the quick glances. The lines are horendous but being with Bellamy and Clarke makes it worth. She pulls out a sketch book and draws a quick sketch of them leaning against the card, capturing Bellamy's freckles and his laughter and when he shows them to him, Gabriel frowns, "You're missing."

He grabs the pencil and instructs Clarke to stand with Bellamy, Bellamy's arm around her shoulder and he draws. His strokes are different, than Clarke's a little lighter, not as firm as her, the style is different but he's sastified with the end result. And judging by Clarke's blush she's happy too.

Every time they play uno or board games he either makes sure that he and Bellamy are on the same team as Clarke to get them thinking that they work well together. But when they can't be on the same team, he makes sure to goad her, wanting to see that flash of competitiveness in her eyes. And every time she wins and jumps up to cheer he has to fight the to thread her hair with his fingers and kiss her and he knows that Bellamy feels the same. instead he settles for hugging her and watching fondly as Clarke laughs into Bellamy’s chest the joy at winning on her face, eyes glossy from the drinks Luna made, Bellamy looking at her like she hung the sun and the moon and the stars.

* * *

Bellamy is a lot of things but he’s not as oblivious as everyone think he is. So it only takes a few days to realize that he is still head over heels for Clarke which is a problem cause he’s with Gabriel. And even though he and Gabriel don’t technically have a label it didn’t feel right to dump him and act like he meant nothing now that Clarke’s here. Because Gabriel means something, he means a lot. After all Bellamy didn’t just invite Gabriel here he has Clarke was coming he invited him here because he wanted to have him here, having Clarke see that he was happy and had moved on was a bonus... that had failed miserably.

Bellamy knows that he should be putting some distance, setting some boundaries for him and Clarke but he can't.

He finds himself drifting to her side, pulling Gabriel with him to share a couch with her. The three of them whispering and laughing during the movie, Clarke's shoulder pressed against his, Gabriel nuzzling his hair, Gabriel's hand over his shoulder, fingers absentmindedly twirling Clarke's hair around his fingers. 

And Gabriel doesn't seem to have an issue with Clarke being with them, in fact he seems to seek out Clarke as much as Bellamy does.

It doesn't take long for the jealousy he once felt seeing them together to turn into desire. He wants then both. He wants to press Clarke against the wall, his lips skimming her neck, Gabriel behind him, his lips on his shoulder. He wants to hold their hands, wants to wake up his body curled around Clarke's and Gabriel's curled around his. 

When he had seen them under the mistletoe, the first emotion he felt was jealousy, but he couldn't figure out who he was more jealous of- Gabriel for kissing Clarke, or Clarke for kissing Gabriel. 

That feeling turned into desire and as he kissed Gabriel, he could taste Clarke's cherry chapstick and it had been a race to their room, to feel Gabriel's skin against his.

Bellamy shakes his head clearing his thoughts as Clarke presses a mug into his hands.

"Tired?"

"Why are we up so early?"

Clarke shrugs as she picks up her own mug and Gabriel shuffles closer to Bellamy wrapping his arms around Bellamy's waist.

"Too early, lets go back to bed."

Clarke rolls her eyes.

"Not unless you want Roan dragging you out."

They stand there, watching the others shuffle into the room, gravitating towards the presents, all of them in vary states of undress and sleep with Roan in his santa boxers, wide awake to Bellamy in his cardigan, half asleep despite the hot chocolate.

Gabriel's eyes drift upwards and he smirks.

He presses a soft kiss to Bellamy's cheek and then Clarke's surpising them both.

"We should join everyone."

He leaves them under the mistletoe, and Bellamy and Clarke exchange a look and then Clarke presses a soft kiss to his cheek, her lips touching the corner of his mouth. 

Clarke hurries over, cheeks red and sits next to Roan who shoves a Santa hat on her head.

Bellamy settles himself in Gabriel's arm, the warmth from his body, almost putting him back to sleep.

Roan passes out the presents eagerly, a boyish glint in his eyes. 

Roan loves Christmas, its the one time he can use his mother's money and buy things for other people. Nothing pisses Nia off more than the thought of her money being used to help others and Roan always goes overboard- donating to various charities, buying everyone expensive gifts knowing that they can't refuse.

He's like Santa, only hotter and more abs, and a habit of never wearing a shirt, and rich. A regular old sugar Santa.

Clarke opens her presents to see that Roan has gifted her a $500 giftcard to her favorite art store, a bottle of expensive wine, a new dress, a gift certificate for a spa day, and some fancy lingere that makes her cheeks red as she pulls it out only to slam the box close once she realizes what it was. 

Luna and Raven start talking about when they should go to the spa and Murphy can't wait to try out his new cooking equipment and grill. 

Bellamy's thrilled with his $500 giftcard to the bookstore, and the wine and chocolates are his favorite, some new blankets that Roan swears are made from the softest sheep, Roan's got him a type writer which Bellamy loves and Gabriel gets a bunch of new cardigans and a giftcard, and more wine and a box with some mistletoe framed in, Roan winks at him when Gabriel looks at him and Gabriel hides his smile. 

The others gifts are amazing, plants from Luna, socks and handcuffs from Emori and Murphy who cackle when they see the look on everyone's faces, Raven and Miller gets Bellamy more polaroid film, and Clarke hands him a book, the cover hand drawn, his stories inside of it.

It's the most beautiful book he has seen, it's his words and her art and it's perfect and he hugs her tightly, burying his head into her hair and she sighs in relief. When she pulls away, Gabriel wraps his hand around her wrist and when she looks at him he jerks his head towards the empty space on the couch and after a moment's hesitation she sinks down, pulling a bit of Bellamy's new blanket over her legs, wedging them between the couch and their legs. Both of them watch as Bellamy thumbs through his book and neither of them notice Roan pulling out his polariod camera to snap a picture of the three of them. 

* * *

Bellamy jerks his hands back in time, dropping his spoon, and the spatula hits the table with a loud _thawk_.

Clarke giggles next to him and Gabriel teases him,

"Wow Murphy, I didn't realize you knew such a big word." 

Murphy glares at them, not amused. It's hard to take him seriously with the antlers on his head and the green footy pajamas that Raven and Emori insisted that he wear. He looked like an overgrown toddler, one that could posion their food but it was a funny sight. 

"My kitchen, my rules!"

Clarke picks up another plastic spoon, dipping it into the cake batter, "Technically Roan's kitchen."

"Out!"

Gabriel ushers them out, seeing the glint in Murphy's eye that told him this could very easily become a food fight, Clarke hiding her prize.

As soon as they are out of Murphy's sight she beams at them and holds up her spoon.

Gabriel shakes in head in amusement and Bellamy tries to grab the spoon from her. 

"Sharing is caring Clarke."

Clarke sticks her tongue out at him, "Should have thought of it first."

She swirls her tongue around the spoon and Bellamy's laughter dies his and Gabriel's focus on her lips and tongue. Clarke pays them no attention, humming in delight, eyes closed.

When she opens them she notices that both men are staring at her, their eyes dark. She smiles innocently, "What are you looking at?"

Gabriel clears his throat looking at Bellamy who points to Clarke's face.

"You, umm, you got some chocolate there.

Bellamy reaches for her face, his thumb brushing at the corner of her lip and her tongue darts out. 

"How about we decorate a gingerbread house?"

They set up at the table, spreading a tray under the house. 

It's a mess, there is icing everywhere including Clarke's hair and Gabriel's cardigan and Bellamy laughs.

"How on earth did two artists fail so badly at this?"

Both of them scowl at him.

"It's his fault..."

"'She started it!"

They both burst into laughter.

"Murphy's going to kill us, when he sees this mess."

Bellamy swipes some icing from Clarke's face and Gabriel grabs his finger, popping it into his mouth. His eyes are on Clarke and the blonde swallows.

The house is quiet, everyone else doing gods know what. 

Gabriel's aware of this intense attraction between them all, of the desire. 

But he also know that he has to be the one to make the first move, he doesn't have a history with Clarke not the way that Bellamy does, so he tugs Clarke towards him and he kisses her soflty, licking the icing off her lips, Bellamy's stands up, his hands on Clarke's waist and Gabriel's arm. Gabriel pulls away from Clarke her eyes dazed blue eyes bright and he turns to capture Bellamy's lips in a hungry kiss, Bellamy can taste the peppermind he comes to assoicate with Gabriel but also the sweetness of the icing on Clarke's face. Gabriel pulls away from and Bellamy turns to Clarke.

She looks determined and she lets go of Gabriel's shirt to tug on his shirt and pull him down for a kiss. Clarke kisses him hard, Bellamy letting her take control of the kiss, his hand letting fo of Gabriel's arm to pulls Clarke closer, slipping his hand under the familiar cardigan that Clarke is wearing. 

Her skin is soft and she whimpers into his mouth and he pulls away.

"I-"

They both turn to Gabriel who had started this and he swallows reaching for both of their hands, his voice is calm but inside he's trembling with fear and anticipation.

"I think Clarke should make us some hot chocolate and I think we need to talk. Cause I like you both."

The easiest way is to be direct but they both look at him, in shock. Bellamy's eyes are full of something that looks like hope, while Clarke's are more hesitant.

He leans in to kiss Clarke gently, his hand letting go of hers to slip under her shirt and then pulls away to kiss Bellamy softly, reassuringly, Bellamy's hand slipping under his shirt, squeezing his side. 

Clarke presses her head against his shoulder and Bellamy looks at her and his other hand tangles in her hair, holding her to them. 

All of their hearts beat in anticipation and Clarke licks her lips. She opens her mouth when Roan’s booming voice interrupts them. "There's a major snowstorm heading our way,I'm heading to grab some supplies, anyone wanna come with?"

Bellamy wants to say no, he can see Clarke pulling away from him, from them.

"I'll go."

It's not a rejection to what Gabriel said, but for Bellamy, it feels like one.

She looks back at them and Bellamy looks away, "I'm going to go chop some wood, Gabriel you should dig out all the candles and flashlights we have, just in case."

Bellamy leaves them behind, grabbing his jacket and hat and heading out as Clarke drives off with Roan.

Chopping wood as always been one of Bellamy's favorite things to do, it something that lets him get out his frustrations and makes him feel useful.  
But today, it doesn't do much for him and after he carries the firewood in, he slinks off to the bathroom. Bellamy stands under the hot water, palms on the tile as he lets the water soothe him.  
He doesn't hear Gabriel come in until the shower curtain opens and Gabriel steps him, wrapping his arms around his waist.  
Gabriel doesn't say anything and Bellamy appreciates it.  
They crawl in bed, and Bellamy traces a pattern on his chest.  
"I'm really happy you came with me. I love you." "I love you too." "I was going to ask you to make things offical and I know your lease is up in a few months and I was wondering.."  
"Yes, absoluetly yes."  
Bellamy kisses him happily, the thought of Clarke running pushes from his mind as Gabriel squeezes his ass.

* * *

Bellamy is the over-worrier, Clarke is the over thinker.

Every part of her wanted to say yes to Bellamy and Gabriel, but when Roan had offered her an out, she had taken it.

She mulls over what Gabriel said in the car, thinks about the taste of peppermint on her lips, of Bellamy's hand in her hair, of them touching her skin.

She wants it, she wants them.

But it shouldn't be this easy right?

This doesn't happen in movies unless its a Hallmark film. One doesn't go home to find that the person they love loves then back after a horrible argument and one does not learn that their lover wants her too... on second thought she has never seen this in a Hallmark film.

"You keep frowning like that and you will get wrinkles."

She scoffs, "Your sound like my mother."

"I prefer Daddy."

Clarke's eyes bulge and she coughs as Roan smirks.

He nudges her shoulder.

"What's on your mind?"

"I- I...Gabriel and Bellamy."

"Oh, so you already fucked? Yes! Luna owes me a -"

"No!" Clarke's cheeks are bright red and she feels warm so she unwinds her scarf.

"No, we didn't- we can't..."

"Why not? You like Bellamy, and you like that kiss with Gabriel."

"So, they -"

"Like you, you like them. Emori, Murphy, and Raven are all dating... so why can't you?"

"Cause it can't be that easy! Bellamy and I- we fought."

Roan runs a hand through his hair.

"And he forgave you...Clarke have you thought of talking to them?"

She peers at the cans on spam intently, feeling Roan look at her.

"Clarke?"

"Before you said there was a storm... we all kissed and Gabriel said we should talk."

"And instead of talking, you ran to the grocery store with me."

Clarke doesn't respond and thanfully Roan doesn't push it.  
Roan pushes the cart to the next aisle, grabbing a bunch of cereal and adding it to the cart.  
Clarke eyes the bag of peppermints and a bag of popcorn, she adds them to the cart and Roan simply smiles.  
Clarke knows that Roan is right and she has some talking to do, but first hot chocolate.  
They grab some more milk and Clarke grabs some whipped cream for the hot chocolate.

Clarke is sure that Roan must have said something because when she gets home, three mugs are set on a tray and the chocolate and marshmellows are already out.

She makes the hot chocolate under the watchful eyes of Roan and Luna who simply say, "They are in their room. The rest of us are going to be watching a movie and not listening at the door." She bellows the last part and Clarke hears Raven and Miller grumble.

Clarke carries the tray upstairs carefully, not wanting to spill anything and nudges the door open.

Gabriel turns to see Clarke at the door, tray in her hand- three mugs and a large bowl of popcorn. She sets the tray on the table as Gabriel sits up.

Bellamy takes longer to sit up and by the time he does, Gabriel already has his hot chocolate in his hands, a soft smile on his face as he looks at the heart Clarke has made with the sprinkles on whipped cream. Clarke hands him the mug, and Bellamy tries not to meet her eyes but the heart makes him smile.

She sits at the edge of her bed watching as Gabriel drinks his hot chocolate, and Bellamy blows on his carefully.

She licks her lip and looks at them both, they are both shirtless, the blankets bunched around their waist.

Silence fills the room and Clarke knows that she has to be the one to say something, she's the one who ran away and takes a deep breath

"I like you both. And it scares me. Bell- I just got you back, I'm scared that I could lose you again. You're my best friend and I already lost you once with our stupid fight. And Gabriel? I have a bad history with relationships, and you make Bellamy happy, really happy and I don't want to mess that up."

Gabriel fixes her with a stare, eyes intense and he places his mug on the table before turning back to her.

"What do you want Clarke? What do you want from us?"

"I-"

"I want to kiss you. I want to hold your hands when we go ice skating and kiss you. I want to wrap my arms around you when we watch a movie. I want to wake up with you and Bellamy in our bed. I want to see you in my cardigan and Bellamy's shirt, hair a mess as we laze around on a Sunday morning. I want to play uno with you and listen to you trash talk us. I want to try and fail to make ginger-bread houses with you two. I want to watch Bellamy kiss you, I want to grade papers and look up to see Bellamy grading papers and you drawing. I want get lost in the stupid corn maze when the falls comes and I want to hold you hand when we shop for cereal. I want to come home to you and Bellamy cooking or fucking on the kitchen counter. I want you. Both of you."

He takes a deep breath and grabs her mug and shoves to to Bellamy trusting that he will grab it.

Clarke looks into Gabriel's dark eyes and swallows.

"What do you want?"

Her eyes flicker between Bellamy and Gabriel.

She wants them both. She wants everything that Gabriel said and more. 

She crawls to Gabriel first, Gabriel who tastes like peppermint and with who she had kissed under the mistletoe and started this whole thing, who not only took care of Bellamy but will take care of her.

She cups his face in his hands, " I want you."

Gabriel kisses her fiercely, his hand sliding into her hair as he tugs her closer, her hands on his shoulders.

Bellamy stares at his two lovers, because that's what they are now. They are his.

This is better than any fantasy he can ever dream up. 

Clarke is small compared to Gabriel but she kisses him with just as much strenght as Gabriel, her pale skin and blonde hair a sharp contrast from Gabriel, from him. Gabriel's got one hand in her hair, the other under her shirt and Bellamy's sees a sliver of her skin and he scoots closer to them, slipping his hand under Clarke's shirt, his fingers brushing Gabriel as he leans in to kiss Gabriel's shoulder, the back of Clarke's hand.

Clarke breaks away from Gabriel, her eyes dark with want and she looks at Bellamy.

"And I want you."

She kisses Bellamy softly, sliding off Gabriel's lap into the space between them.

This time her hands are in Bellamy's hair, while his hands wrap around her waist, dipping into the hem of her jeans. Bellamy tastes like the hot chocolate, a hint of Gabriel's peppermint. Despite the softness of the kiss, he holds her just as tightly as Gabriel maybe even more so.

Gabriel moves toward, brushing her hair aside and kissing her shoulder and making his way up her neck. 

Clarke's not sure who is the one behind her gasp- Bellamy's teeth tugging on her botton lip or Gabriel, nipping at a spot on her jaw but it makes her gasp and her eyes flutter as she tilts her head up. 

She feels overwhelmed, between the two of them, Gabriel's hands running up her spine, Bellamy's fingers on the hem of her panties.

She pushes Bellamy away gently and right away Gabriel pulls away too.

Bellamy searches Clarke's eyes for any regrets, but there are none. Her hair is a mess, her cheeks are flushed her, lips are a bit swollen, and she looks happy.

"You still want us?"

His fingers brush her cheek as she nods, "I want you both. I'm still scared- worried... but I want this more. I want you both."

"We can go as slow as you want too, as we all want too."

Bellamy nods in agreement with Gabriel and Clarke looks at both of them.

"So what now?"

"We could talk some more... or we could kiss..."

"We could cuddle..."

"Or do all three."

"But Gabriel and I should probably put some clothes on.  
Clarke blinks, eyes roamind their bodies,"You're not..."  
"Blame Bell, he was too lazy to put some on after our shower."  
Clarke giggles as they playfully argue, Gabriel's chin on her shoulder as he talks to Bellamy, his hands playing with the hem of her shirt.

Clarke leans her head on his shoulder and gently tugs her shirt up, Gabriel and Bellamy pause as Gabriel's hand join hers, waiting for permission and she nods. He pulls her shirt off and Clarke ducks her head shyly at Bellamy's "Fuck," and Gabriel kisses her shoulder.  
"You good?"  
She nods and she lays down to tug off her pants and Gabriel tosses them to the floor.  
She slips under the covers with them.  
It should be weird being half naked in a bed with two naked men but Bellamy scoots closer to her and pulls her against his chest and Gabriel reaches them, his arm around both of their waists, both of them pressing against her.  
They still have things to talk about, boundaries to set, she's got to find a place to live and figure out how this will work but right now, laying between these two men, one that she's been in love with for a while, and the other she could see herself loving, she's happy content.  
She kisses Gabriel soflty, while moving her hips aganist Bellamy's who lifts her leg over his hips and she reaches for Gabriel, wanting for both of them to touch her and each other.

* * *

They come down, hungry and semi-dressed all of them in cardigans, their hair a mess, hickies scattered on their necks and Clarke's thighs are red. Roan grins when he sees them and Luna pouts and Clarke remembers Roan saying something about a bet and Raven blinks in surprise. She gestures between the three of the  
"When? How? But you two are- and you? You three?"  
Gabriel looks up to see that Clarke and Bellamy are under the mistletoe and points to it.  
"Blame it on the mistletoe."  
Bellamy laugh as Clarke kisses him, surprising him and he pulls her toward him pushing her against the counter gently. When he pulls away, he presses a kiss to Clarke's forehead, Clarke reaches out for him and Gabriel lets himself be dragged to them as Clarke cranes her neck for a kiss from him and he places one hand on Bellamy's back as he kisses Clarke and then pulls away to kiss Bellamy as Clarke nuzzles Bellamy's collarbone.

All three are happy, very happy. In between kisses and orgasms, they had talked about things.  
Bellamy offered Clarke her old room and Gabriel tells her about him moving in during the summer. They talk about dating and set up their first date outside of the cabin- a trip to the art museum. Bellamy admits that he prefers being the little spoon but he also likes to hold them and Clarke is quick to wrap her arms around him.  
Gabriel silently makes a note to ask Roan to help him find a bigger bed.  
Clarke tells Gabriel about how things went down with Lexa and he and Bellamy share how they met and came to me. Bellamy and Clarke tell him about their friendship and the feelings there and it's all open and good and if he had it his way, they wouldn't leave the room let alone the bed, but their stomach had been growling and they needed to eat.  
"If you lovebirds are all done, we are about to have a Harry Potter marathon.You interested?"  
"In a second."

Clarke pulls Bellamy towards her for another kiss and Gabriel smiles, he was right, they all did fit well together and he can see the future and it's bright.  
He wishes that he had a camera so he could capture this moment forever, the three of them under the mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Bellarkecordadventserver and a special shoutout to Lynn who helped me edit this
> 
> I didn't expect for this to be so long or so much fun to write. This originally was at 8k and then I edited it, and it somehow became this 18k fic.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this and I would love it if you let me know what ya'll thought of this. 
> 
> Happy Holidays and sending a lot of love to you.


End file.
